


Christmas in the Stars

by ArSommers



Category: Firefly
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArSommers/pseuds/ArSommers
Summary: Despite initial misgivings from their captain, the Serenity crew celebrate Christmas together.  One-shot.
Relationships: Malcolm Reynolds/Inara Serra
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re consistently flying through the darkness of space and encountering different climates. Fortunately, the Serenity crew kept their logs up to date. And even if they somehow were to miss a day, they had a Shephard to remind them of the holidays.  
“I suspect you realize what time of year it is,” Shepherd Book said to Malcom Reynolds one afternoon as the two ate in the kitchen.  
“Of course I do,” Mal said, “It’s only a few more weeks until the end of the year,”  
“That it is,” Book said, “Which means it’s almost Christmas,”  
Mal took a swig of his drink. “We don’t celebrate holidays on this ship,” he said matter-of-factly.  
“Really?” Book asked. “Not a single holiday?”  
“What one chooses to celebrate in their own quarters is up to them,” Mal said. “But collectively, we have business to conduct,”  
“Some would argue that there are things more important than business transactions,” Book said. “From both a spiritual and social standpoint,”  
“We haven’t celebrated any holidays on this ship before,” Mal repeated, his tone a bit sharper than he’d intended, “So why would we celebrate Christmas now?”  
“Are we celebrating Christmas this year?” Kaylee asked excitedly as she walked into the kitchen.  
Before Mal could reply Book asked her “Would you be interested in doing so?”  
“Of course!” Kaylee replied enthusiastically. “I haven’t celebrated properly since I was with my family on my home planet,” Kaylee’s eyes lit up. “It could be even more meaningful now that we have a Shepherd on board!”  
“Then I believe we can arrange something small on the 25th,” Book said.  
“Why does it have to be small?” Kaylee said. “It’s Christmas after all,” Kaylee gazed at Mal, who looked as though he regretted ever setting foot into the kitchen. “Is it because of Mr. Grumpy Pants over here?” she asked.  
“We have schedules to attend to,” Mal said, his excuse sounding pathetic even to his own ears.  
“Oh come on, don’t be such a Scrooge,” Kaylee teased. “Once I tell the others about the plan, we’ll make it the best Christmas Serenity has ever seen!”  
“No, we’re not telling the others,” Mal said, but Kaylee was already out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone aside from the captain was on board with the idea of celebrating Christmas. The fact they were making a stop on a planet for one of their more legal transactions only enthused them further; after all, this would be a chance to pick up any items they needed for the celebration.  
“You’ve made the crew happy,” Zoe commented as she and Mal waited onboard Serenity at the port.  
“Wasn’t me that had anything to do with it,” he replied.  
“Come on,” Zoe gave a small smile. “With the line of work we’re in, it’s good to find reasons to celebrate,”  
“Only thing I’m celebrating is that we were able to accomplish this job without anyone getting shot at,”  
“See?” Zoe said. “That’s a start,”  
*  
“Thank you for helping me decorate,” Kaylee said as she and the Shepherd carried boxes of decorations into the cargo bay.  
“My pleasure” Book replied. “I’m glad someone else is eager to do so,”  
“The nice thing is we didn’t have to purchase much in the way of decorations,” Kaylee said, gesturing to the large sycamore branch in the corner. “I mean, it’s no evergreen, but it’s a plant that can still be decorated with lights and shiny objects,”  
“Sometimes we have to make do with the best we have,” Book said, “Like on the first Christmas,”  
“Yeah,” Kaylee nodded earnestly. “Plus I think Jayne enjoyed climbing up that tree to get such a large branch,”  
“That man does enjoy a good physical challenge,” Book agreed.  
“Blinking lights all lined in a row,” River said behind them, running her fingers through the strands of extra white lights Kaylee had brought from her quarters. Then, looking up at the two of them with a content smile, said “All roads lit by lights lead to home,”  
“We probably won’t have these up exactly in in straight lines,” Kaylee said, “But I think they would look good draped along the metal walkways and rails,”  
“To light the way home,” River said.  
Kaylee thought about what River said for a moment and said “Yeah, to light the way home,”


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone was surprised to find more gifts under the tree Christmas morning than there had been the night before. It’s not that the base of the tree was bare on Christmas Eve-the crew had been adding to the small pile as the days led up to the holiday- but what mystified them was the extra gifts were for each person, with a “To” scrawled on the tag but lacking a “From”. Nobody would confess to it either, allowing Kaylee to give a good natured “Thank you mystery Santa,” comment after they’d finished opening gifts.  
While their evening meal was no goose and punch-laden smorgasbord as in the stories of old, there was some fresh food that Inara had purchased for their meal, including strawberries and honey-roasted chestnuts. After they’d eaten their fill Kaylee suggested Shepherd Book read the story of Christmas from his Bible. As they gathered in the cargo bay dimly lit with Kaylee’s white lights, Mal made an excuse to stay behind and clean up some of the extra dishes in the kitchen. But when Mal found himself alone when everyone left to listen to the Shepherd, he felt a twinge of guilt.  
Mal’s life, as with every crew member aboard Serenity, was typically preoccupied with living job to job and paycheck to paycheck. But that day, for the first time in years, Mal had inadvertently allowed himself to forget his preoccupation with work and the ever-looming threat of the Alliance and make peace with the here and now. Surrounded by the blanket of space and far away from the horrors of the ‘verse, Serenity felt like an actual home. And the people aboard? Well, Mal would never admit it aloud, but the nine of them felt like a family.  
With the kitchen looking like nobody had ever entered it, Mal made his way to the cargo bay, hoping that he could still catch the end of what the Preacher was reading. Sure enough, they were still gathered near the Christmas tree, as if they were children taking in a story. Mal leaned against the doorframe and listened too.  
“Didn’t think you would join us,” Mal heard Inara say from behind.  
“Was passing through,” Mal said simply.  
Inara leaned against the other side of the doorframe and gave a knowing smile. “I know that was you who gave the mystery gifts,” she said.  
“Really?” Mal folded his arms. “What ever made you think that?”  
“Come on,” Inara chuckled. “A pink frilly scarf for Kaylee after the formal ball on Persephone? A pistol cleaning kit for Jayne? You know us too well. Though I will say I was surprised that the Shepherd got a new Bible,”  
“River had done a good number on the old one tryin’ to ‘fix’ it,” Mal said.  
There was a brief glimpse of adoration in Inara’s eyes before she turned to look at the rest of the crew. “You did well,”  
Mal followed her gaze in looking at the family he’d put together, united not in the usual heist but in the spirit of Christmas. “They deserve it,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone!


End file.
